


Vengeance

by Halmaithor



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Rewrite, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia, Multi, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-06 09:17:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21224231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halmaithor/pseuds/Halmaithor
Summary: Hotis has sworn vengeance upon Vax'ildan, and he knows just what will hurt him the most.





	1. The Attack

**Author's Note:**

> This was my very first Critical Role fic! It occurred to me that if I was a rakshasa bent on vengeance against Vax, I wouldn’t target /him/ first - so I thought I’d explore what might have happened had Hotis been a little less direct.

At first, Vex doesn’t know why she’s awake again – but then the quiet knock at her door comes a second time. ‘Yes?’, she calls out softly.  
The door opens slightly, and Vax’s head appears. ‘Hey. You still awake?’ he asks, also keeping his voice low.  
She groans, sitting up in bed and yawning. ‘Well, I am _now_. What time is it? Why are _you_ awake?’  
‘I couldn’t sleep.’ Vax shuffles into her room. Trinket, dozing in the corner, looks over sleepily – then resettles as he sees who it is. As her brain wakes up properly, Vex starts to get a little worried. Vax definitely looks perturbed – not quite meeting her eyes, hands fidgeting with a bundle of fabric he’s carrying – and as he continues to speak, there’s an unsure note to his voice. ‘I just… um, would you mind walking with me for a bit? I know it’s late, but…’  
Vex interrupts his distracted pause. ‘Alright,’ she says, clambering out of bed.  
Vax tosses whatever he’s holding at the foot of the bed. ‘Here, put that on. It’s cold.’ He gives her a half-hearted smile, and leaves the room to wait outside.

Curious, Vex shakes out the bundle to reveal a beaded robe. Blue silk, from the feel of it, intricately embroidered with black thread. She’s a little bemused by the gift, but it’s beautiful, and when she slips it over her pyjamas it’s soft and comfortable.  
She leaves Trinket to sleep and joins her brother, the bedroom door closing with a quiet _click_. Vax gestures down the hallway and they walk together in silence.

When they reach the tower at the top of the stairs, Vex is grateful for the extra layer. The night air this far north is cold, just as Vax said. He closes the door behind them and makes his way to the edge of the balcony, leaning lightly on the balustrade. ‘Beautiful night, isn’t it?’  
Vex hums in agreement, glancing up as she walks over to stand beside him. The sky is brilliantly clear, without even a wisp of cloud to dim the stars; the moon is almost full, and its generous light spills across the silent castle grounds. She refocuses, remembering why they’re out here in the first place. ‘What was it you wanted to talk about?’  
Vax lets out a deep sigh, looking down at the courtyard below. ‘Vengeance,’ he says, his voice barely above a whisper.

She’s taken aback, but only momentarily – her mind flashes back to the destruction of Emon, the roar of the great red wyrm. The ruins of Byroden. Her anger, never far from the surface these days, begins to simmer again. ‘Well, I can understand why that would be on your mind.’  
‘It’s all I’ve been able to think about for some time now,’ he continues, before turning towards her with a smile, the expression discordant against his words. His left hand comes up onto her shoulder, and he meets her eyes for the first time that night. ‘It’s _all_ I can think about. But finally – _finally_ – the time has come.’

Vex opens her mouth to ask what he means – they won’t be ready to face Thordak for some time, surely? – but all that comes out is a choked cry of pain. She glances down to just below her ribs, where there is now a dagger embedded, before meeting Vax’s eyes again.  
His grin widens, and he chuckles darkly. ‘Oh, and believe me – I intend to kill your brother, too, for what he did to me. But _this_-‘ he snarls and twists the dagger, and she can’t stop a whimper escaping – ‘_this_ is the pain he truly deserves.’

His form flickers for a moment, and Vex catches a glimpse of russet fur. Underneath the agony, in the last clear part of her mind, the pieces click into place.  
_This isn’t Vax._  
_You’re unarmed._  
**_Run!_**

The spell of her shock is broken just as the creature draws back the blade, arcing overhead to come down for another strike. Vex raises her arm to knock it away, and runs like hell for the door. ‘Jenga!’ she shouts, hand flying to her earring. ‘Jenga! West tower! Jenga-‘ The door won’t open, and her shouts devolve into a wordless scream of pain as she feels the knife sink into her back.  
She turns around in time to see the creature raise its weapon again, still wearing her brother’s grinning face. Out of options, she plants her feet and fights back tooth and nail.

***

‘_Jenga! Jenga! West tower! Jenga-_’ Scanlan nearly jumps out of his skin as the desperate cries and the scream that follows disrupt his focus, the book falling to the floor as he leaps to his feet.  
There’s a moment of panic as he grabs his shawm, his hand cone, his sword; but his sharp mind latches on to the most important piece of information – _west tower_ – and the Dimension Door spell is complete almost before he has time to think about it.

His new surroundings flash into place, and he whirls around to see Vex falling against the door, covered in blood – and a dark-haired assailant, raising a dagger for another strike.  
‘_Oi!_’ Scanlan shouts, reaching out towards the figure. The _hold person _spell fizzles into nothingness, but the figure turns around, snarling. Scanlan steps back in shock as he recognises the face of Vax, twisted into feral anger – and then backs up further as Vax advances on him, swinging the blade. The first strike passes just over Scanlan’s head, and he yelps in surprise, hand flying out instinctively. ‘Stay _back!_’  
The second strike glances off a purple energy barrier, as _Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere_ seals up tight.

Scanlan stares at his friend, breathing heavily. ‘Vax, what the _fuck_ is going on?’  
The figure inside the sphere starts slashing at the barrier, and its appearance slips away from familiarity as Vax’s face is replaced with that of a tiger. _Oh shit, _Scanlan thinks. _Not Vax. Well, that makes more sense._

Keeping half his attention on the sphere, Scanlan runs over to Vex, who’s now slumped against the door with her eyes closed. ‘No, come on, Vex,’ he chides, his voice a little shaky, but still resonating with power. ‘Come on, wake up.’ Magic blossoms into the air, and as it makes contact with Vex, her eyes flutter open again. He smiles down at her. ‘There you go. Hi.’  
She blinks up at him, confused, and then suddenly afraid. ‘Scanlan – Vax – it’s _not_ Vax – ‘  
‘I know, I know,’ he says, raising a hand in reassurance. ‘I mean, you guys fight, but that seemed a _little_ extreme. But he’s dealt with for the time being. Don’t worry.’

There’s a quiet bump at the door, followed by an almost imperceptible scratching at the lock. Scanlan smiles, and gently drags Vex further out onto the balcony. ‘I’m guessing that’s your _real_ brother right now.’

***

‘_-ga! West tower! Jenga-_‘  
Vax startles awake to Vex’s voice, shouting for help before being cut off mid-scream. By the time his conscious mind has realised what’s happening, instinct has taken over and he’s already out of the door, boots jammed onto his feet and belt haphazardly fastened around his waist.

He sprints down the corridor, half-alert to what’s going on around him – the sounds of fighting echoing through the walls, Trinket roaring, gunshots as a stranger staggers out of a screaming Percy’s room and straight into Grog’s axe. Vax ignores it all for the time being, darting around the scuffles that spill out of the bedrooms and pressing down the corridor towards the stairs. _West tower. Get to the tower._

He climbs the stairs two or three at a time, channelling every ounce of the _haste _spell into single-minded movement. He reaches the top, grabs the handle and pushes.  
The door quietly _thunks_ against the frame.

Heart hammering, he kneels down at the lock, suddenly cursing the adrenaline that got him this far – but thanking whoever’s listening that he keeps the lockpicks on the belt with his daggers. He can hear Scanlan’s voice. _Good. She’s not alone._  
Seemingly endless seconds later, the lock clicks softly and releases. Daggers in hand, Vax kicks the door open.

Outside, he first notices a familiar, tiger-like figure, fruitlessly hacking at the inside of a magical sphere. Then Scanlan, who’s got a look of intense concentration on his face, but still shoots a lazy smile in Vax’s direction.  
And lastly, his eyes find his sister, lying bloody on the ground.

‘_Fuck! _Vex’ahlia!’ he swears, rushing to her side and falling to his knees. ‘Holy shit.’ He lays both hands on her shoulders, willing whatever divine power he can muster to try and fix her broken form.  
Her eyes, glassy and unfocused, widen for a moment as they find his, but then she seems to relax as the healing magic enters her system. ‘Oh,’ she says, her voice small and weak. ‘It’s you. Hey.’  
He swallows hard. ‘Hey.’ His voice cracks, but he clears his throat and regains his composure. ‘Fucking hell.’  
‘Yeah, fun night,’ she agrees, and starts pushing herself up to a sitting position.  
‘Hey, hey, careful,’ he admonishes gently. He reaches out to help her, taking her weight as she leans against him.  
‘I’m alright.’ She rolls her eyes, then sways a little and blinks rapidly. ‘Ooh, okay, _that_ was a bad idea. But honestly, I’m alright.’ She places a hand just below her ribs, wincing slightly at the touch. It glows dimly as she attempts to further cure her wounds, and Vax watches as a couple of scrapes on the back of her hand heal over.  
As she’s casting the spell, Percival’s voice comes over the earring. ‘We’re clear down here. Heading up to the tower.’  
Vax’s heart slows with further relief. He raises a hand to his ear to reply. ‘We’ve still got one guy up here, but Scanlan’s got him locked down. Come join the party.’ He turns his attention back to the furious rakshasa, quelling his own anger in favour of a bitter, mocking smile. ‘What’s the matter, fuckface?’ he calls out. ‘Things not going to plan?’

The rakshasa snarls, but gradually stops attacking the sphere, apparently realising that it’s pointless. Its expression shifts into a malicious grin as he turns towards them. ‘No matter. I can be patient. Mark my words, half-elf; I’ll take you, _her_, _and_ all of your friends.’  
Vex seems to flinch a little at the threat – whether it’s out of anger or fear, Vax isn’t sure, but he tightens his arms around her all the same. ‘Yeah, fuck that. You’re staying right there until we figure out how to kill you for good this time.’  
Scanlan _umms_ and _ahhs _a little at that. ‘Well… that sphere won’t hold him forever,’ he says quietly. ‘If you’re saying that our usual brand of violence isn’t going to cut it, I suggest we figure out an alternative pretty damn quick.’

It’s at that point that the rest of them start appearing on the balcony – Grog charges out, the rage in his eyes fading as he takes in the lack of hittable enemies. Percy follows, then Pike (and Vax quickly averts his eyes as he sees her state of undress). Keyleth’s the last out, circlet slightly crooked on her head. ‘Wait, is that _Hotis_?’ she says incredulously, and looks towards Vax in disbelief.  
He nods, then turns to Pike (very deliberately focusing on her face). ‘Pike, we don’t have a lot of time, and this fucker’s proved pretty hard to kill in the past. I don’t know if it’ll work, but I figure there’s nothing wrong with trying a little holy condemnation. Would you?’  
Pike pulls her concerned gaze away from Vex’ahlia to look at Hotis with a calm sort of anger. ‘Okay. Gather round, everyone – we can take him together.’

The twins watch on as the other five members assemble around the sphere. Hotis’ attention flickers between all of them, looking slightly nervous, but still sneering. ‘Fine. Take your pointless violence – but this is not the end. I’ll come back for all of you.’  
‘Shut the fuck up,’ Grog growls, and Scanlan drops the sphere.  
There are a few seconds of uproar. Grog swings his axe with a furious bellow, Percy’s gun goes off, there’s a crack of thunder as Scanlan summons a lightning bolt, and a further flash of light as Pike and Keyleth rain fire and divinity down on the rakshasa. Above it all, there echoes a screaming howl – and when the smoke clears, Hotis is gone, a pile of blackened remains where he once stood.


	2. The Ziggurat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hotis is gone, but there's still the matter of that robe he gave Vex. The one that feels like it's glued to her skin.

Vex is the first to speak again. ‘Well, that happened. Thanks, guys.’

The silence broken, a flurry of conversation ensues. Pike comes over and casts her most powerful healing spell, while Grog runs down to fetch her a robe. Percy goes to alert the guards of the attack – not just the rakshasa, but the assassins that apparently got into a few other rooms – while Keyleth realises that they might not have been the only targets, so she and Scanlan run to check on their friends.  
Vex just sits there, exhausted and leaning heavily on her brother, who’s watching her like a hawk now the rakshasa’s been disposed of. ‘What happened?’ he asks, once most of the others have cleared off. ‘Why were you even out here?’

She sighs, suddenly annoyed that she fell for its ruse. ‘It came to my room disguised as you. Gave me this,’ she says, gesturing at the robe, ‘and asked if we could talk. The fucker’s good – he even fooled Trinket, so he must have made himself smell as bad as you do, too.’ Vax gives her a half-smile, which she returns briefly. ‘So, I followed him out here, and then he stabbed me. A lot. If it weren’t for Scanlan showing up when he did, things might have gone very badly.’  
‘Well, thank the gods for insomniac gnomes,’ Vax mutters, and she laughs weakly, nodding in agreement.

There’s a brief interruption as Grog returns with a robe for Pike – trailed by a very concerned bear, who was reportedly battering the bedroom door in a desperate attempt to get to Vex once things kicked off. She laughs as Trinket licks her face (‘Oh – oh, thanks, Trinket, thanks for that,’) while Vax reaches over to scruff behind the bear’s ears, and does absolutely nothing to help.  
Pike, now covered up with a far-too-baggy robe and frowning thoughtfully, gets the conversation back on track. ‘Vex, you said the rakshasa gave you that robe? Can I see it?’  
‘Yeah, sure,’ Vex says, sitting up a little straighter and attempting to remove it.

Her vision whites out in pain for a second. She comes round to Vax’s voice, which is just shy of frantic. ‘-ahlia! Vex!’  
She opens her eyes and sees him and Pike looking down at her, their expressions fading from fear to relief as she wakes. ‘Ow,’ she complains. She doesn’t bother to sit up again, just stays slumped in her brother’s arms, even more exhausted than she felt before. ‘That hurt.’  
‘Maybe it’s the movement straining the wounds?’ Pike suggests. ‘I can help take it off-‘  
‘Wait!’ Vax interrupts, holding out a hand to fend off Pike’s advance. ‘Wait, wait. Let’s figure out if we’re dealing with something more serious here. No rash actions – last thing we need is for you to survive that dickhead, and then get finished off by a fucking cursed piece of outerwear.’  
‘Well, if it _is_ something magical, Allura might know,’ Pike says. ‘Or Gilmore?’  
‘Or Zahra,’ Vax adds. ‘She’s in the castle, right? Let’s go find her.’

They begin to limp down the stairs – one of Vex’s arms around Vax’s shoulders, the other held in a vice-like grip by Grog – but don’t get as far as Zahra before running into Percy. ‘Is everything alright?’ he asks, scanning their expressions. ‘Besides the obvious, I mean.’  
‘Robe’s cursed,’ Grog supplies helpfully.  
Percy raises his eyebrows, looking to the others for confirmation.  
‘Well, we don’t know that it’s _cursed_, per se,’ Vex says. ‘But I can’t take it off without it _really_ fucking hurting. It’s like it’s attached to my skin.’  
‘We were going to ask Zahra to take a look at it,’ Vax says.

Vex can practically see the thoughts whirring behind Percy’s eyes as he thinks it over. ‘You _could_ ask Zahra – she’s fine, by the way, didn’t even wake up until we went and checked on her - but I think there’s a faster way to deal with this particular problem. Follow me.’  
‘Where?’ Vax asks, a little warily.  
‘The ziggurat,’ Percy replies, and starts leading the way.

They make their way down to the underbelly of the castle – painstakingly, with Percy asking her how she feels practically every five feet – until they get well within range of the orb’s anti-magic effect. Pike attempts a spell to double-check they’ve come far enough, and when it doesn’t work, Percy motions towards Vex with a _go ahead_ sort of gesture. ‘Alright. Try to take it off now – _slowly_. If this doesn’t work, we’ll try something else.’

Trying to ignore the building anxiety, as well as Grog and Vax hovering either side in case she passes out again, Vex undoes the robe. _Thank goodness I’m wearing something under this,_ she thinks; and then she gently tries again to remove it.  
It slips off her shoulders no problem, and they all breathe a sigh of relief. ‘Alright, good,’ Vax says, kicking it away from her gingerly as it falls to the floor. ‘Good call, Percival.’  
Percy smiles, but doesn’t look totally convinced. ‘Well, we’re not out of the woods yet. We don’t know if destroying it will have any negative effect, for one thing - but for now, let’s get out of here. I think we’ve spent more than enough time around that damn orb.’

The group starts the ascent back up to the castle, Vex supported between Vax and Percy this time (‘Thank you, Grog, but I think I’ve got enough bruises,’ she says). Both Vex and the robe cross the anti-magic boundary without an issue, and there’s another collective sigh of relief.  
There’s a brief moment of confusion as Keyleth appears with Gilmore (‘No no no – Gilmore, this one’s the _real_ Vax!’), before they all reach the main dining hall. Cassandra, Zahra, Kash, Kima and Allura are already there, waiting for them in various states of disarray. (Kash, in particular, is _covered_ in blood.)

In the last few hours before dawn, Vex listens as plans are made to deal with the aftermath of the attack, people coming and going to run various errands. She doesn’t take much in, too tired to pay proper attention - she gleans that everyone is safe, and that they have a short grace period before Hotis shows up again. That’s enough for her right now.

Eventually, Vax nudges her, and she looks up at him groggily from where she’s practically collapsed on the table. ‘Come on, Stubby,’ he says, getting her to her feet. ‘Time for bed.’  
She doesn’t protest, and lets him half-carry her back up to her room, Trinket in tow. When he puts her to bed, she doesn’t let go immediately. ‘Wait, wait,’ she says, putting her other arm around his neck and pulling him close. ‘Love you,’ she says, her words slightly muffled in the crook of his neck.  
Vax exhales heavily. ‘Yeah, love you too.’ His voice is a little shaky and thick, but when he pulls back there’s a smile on his face. ‘Get some sleep. You’ve been enough trouble for one night.’  
She laughs, and he leaves, the door shutting behind him and the sound of Trinket’s snoring already filling the room again.


	3. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vex'ahlia really, really hoped her troubles would be over by now. These waking nightmares of her ordeal don't exactly fit that plan.

_Hotis laughs with her brother’s voice as the world goes dark around her. It turns into sobbing, the real Vax begging her to wake up. She knows she can’t.  
_She turns over, feeling the bedsheets brush against her living skin, trying to dispel the vision.

_The rakshasa turns away from her, advancing on Scanlan, who doesn’t duck out of the way in time, his head cleaved from his shoulders.  
_‘No,’ she whispers, squeezing her eyes shut. ‘Stop it, he’s _fine_.’

_Trinket bellows and rushes her attacker, then howls in pain as he’s stabbed in the heart.  
_‘Everything’s _fine _now.’

_The magical sphere is dropped and Hotis cackles, striking out at Keyleth, who falls down dead.  
Pike screams and falls.  
Grog falls.  
Percy.  
Vax-  
_Vex sits bolt upright, groaning quietly and rubbing her eyes. The curtains block out a fair amount of light, but she knows that it’s been hours, and sleep still won’t come despite how tired she feels. She doesn’t even feel like she’s _rested_ – it’s like she’s been running for her life for the last eight hours or so, not lying in bed. _And I thought this night couldn’t get any worse,_ she thinks bitterly.

She’s proved wrong _again_ not even ten minutes later, when a familiar swirling sensation starts up in her stomach. ‘Oh, fuck,’ she gasps, leaping out of bed and grabbing the empty chamber pot just in time. She throws up into it, hard, retching loudly. Trinket wakes up and stretches, looking at her curiously.  
There’s also a knock at the door. ‘Vex?’ She’s still gagging too much to reply, but the door cracks open and Vax sticks his head in, concerned frown on his face. ‘You alright?’  
‘Did you sleep in my doorway again?’ she asks suspiciously, but has to turn back to the pot before she gets a response.  
She feels a hand on her back as Vax crouches beside her, not answering her question, waiting for her to resurface. Trinket pads over and sits beside her too, grunting in quiet distress.

She eventually finishes retching and looks up. ‘Ugh. This is the worst. I hate being sick.’  
Vax pulls her up and then pushes her to sit on the edge of the bed, before handing her a waterskin. ‘Here, drink this. Slowly.’ She does as he says while he looks her over, hand under her chin, tilting her face side to side. ‘You look awful,’ he says matter-of-factly. ‘Did you sleep?’  
‘No,’ she says, suspecting that shaking her head would be a bad idea.  
‘At _all_?’  
‘_No_. I _tried_, okay?’ she says irritably.  
He ignores her tone. ‘How do you feel?’  
‘Sick. And dizzy. And cold, and sweaty… fucking terrible, basically.’ She laughs mirthlessly and sips at the water, willing her stomach to calm down.  
‘Hmm.’ Vax cups her face in his hands, lifting her gaze to meet his again. ‘Let me just…’ His eyes flash with a dull grey light, and Vex feels a small surge of warmth pass through her. ‘Any better?’ he asks.  
She considers it for a moment, shakes her head, and immediately has to take some more water. _I was right. That **was** a bad idea._

Vax turns back towards the door. ‘Excuse me!’ he calls. ‘Need some help in here!’  
A guard quickly appears in the doorway – one of the ones patrolling the hallway after the attack, Vex is guessing. ‘Yessir. What do you need?’  
‘Would you send for Lady Allura? Tell her that my sister’s unwell after last night’s attack, and that it’s an emergency.’  
‘Yessir. I’ll have her brought here.’ The guard disappears again.  
‘We don’t know that it’s an emergency,’ Vex points out. ‘We don’t even know it’s because of last night. I could just be getting sick.’  
‘Yeah, well, we’re not taking any chances, so just shut up and drink your water,’ Vax says tersely – but he sits down beside her, hand returning to her back.

It doesn’t take long for Allura to arrive, along with Kima; apparently they stayed in the castle after the attack, their previous lodgings something of a mess due to Kima ‘_beating the shit out of’_ the assassin that came after them.  
Allura leans down towards Vex, worry written in her eyes. ‘How are you feeling?’  
‘Awful,’ Vex says, more miserably than she means to. ‘I couldn’t sleep – I kept reliving what happened, and what _might_ have happened, and then I just…’ She gestures, embarrassed, to the still-full chamber pot. (Kima wrinkles her nose in distaste.)  
Allura gives a sympathetic smile, before her expression turns serious again. ‘It might be a lingering enchantment from the robe. Let me try something…’ She casts a spell that Vex doesn’t recognise, muttering under her breath, and Vex feels the impact of it washing over her – but there’s no change in how she feels.

Allura seems to read from her expression that nothing’s changed, and her frown deepens. ‘Perhaps this is a problem that can be better solved by divine means, rather than the arcane. Kima, would you take a look?’  
Kima steps forward, reaching up to take Vex’s face in her hands. ‘Sure, I can do that.’ She hesitates for a moment - ‘Don’t you throw up on me,’ she warns – before she grasps both sides of Vex’s head, turning it this way and that, looking intently into her eyes and at the back of her throat. It isn’t long before she sighs in apparent frustration. ‘I don’t know. Honestly, you just look tired to me. I mean, I can try something, but I don’t have much more than what I’m sure he’s already done,’ she says, gesturing towards Vax. ‘What about your cleric? Have you asked her?’  
Vax raises a hand to his earring. ‘Hey, Pike, you awake yet? Could you come to my sister’s room? We might have something of a problem.’

Pike walks in the door a few moments later – followed by Keyleth, Percy, and Grog, who all heard the message over the earring and came to see what was going on.  
Pike pushes her way through the sudden crowd and looks up at Vex, studying her intently (if a little more gently than Kima) for a good minute before she speaks. ‘Well, I don’t think you’re just getting sick,’ she says finally. ‘There isn’t anything physically wrong with you, other than the exhaustion. So if you’re throwing up and feeling this rubbish, there certainly might be a more sinister cause.’  
‘I could take a look at the vomit, for any evidence of poison and the like,’ Percy offers. Before Vex can get a word in to stop him, Grog and Vax enthusiastically agree, then silently bump fists as Percy heads to the corner of the room to inspect the chamber pot. Vex hides her face in her hands with a quiet groan. _Wonderful. I’m going to survive all of this bullshit just to die of embarrassment instead._

Keyleth pipes up at that point. ‘Hey, Kima – did you try a restoration?’  
Kima shakes her head. ‘Not exactly my specialty. Could be worth a go, though.’  
‘I can help with that,’ Pike says, and Keyleth nods. They each take one of Vex’s hands in both of theirs, and close their eyes.  
The rest of the room looks on intently as a breeze seems to come from nowhere, the magic thrumming through the air around them – and Vex gasps as she feels a dark tension lift from her chest, like something’s _unhooked _from inside her.  
The spell finishes, the energy fading. Keyleth and Pike open their eyes, smile, and turn to each other for a high-five.  
‘Did it work?’ Vax asks. ‘How do you feel?’  
Vex nods. ‘Yes, I think that did the trick. Thank you, Keyleth. Pike.’  
Keyleth grins. ‘No problem. Take that, curse!’

Vex sighs, and gets up from the bed. ‘Alright. Thank you all- oh, Percy, darling, you can stop looking through that now. I’m alright.’ She ignores Grog’s chuckle as Percy looks up, his task focus broken, slowly realising that the problem is already solved. ‘Now, please – everyone _out._’  
Pike nods. ‘Yeah, we should go. You should probably get some sleep.’  
Vex snorts. ‘Oh, never mind that. It’s what, three in the afternoon? No. I’m going to get dressed, and then I think we should all go get a drink.’

If anyone disagrees with her plan, they don’t do it anywhere _near_ loudly enough to compete with the cheer from the rest of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so, SO tempted to call this chapter 'The Twirls', but I just couldn't do it.   
Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr:   
silver-latin-and-salt.tumblr.com


End file.
